April 2011

GreenEsq. is featuring an ongoing series of posts in an effort to track the progress of the NYC Green Codes Task Force’s proposals and any resulting local laws that are relevant to building owners and tenants in New York City. This post summarizes the NYC Green Codes Task Force proposals and Local Laws enacted for the Energy Fundamentals category.

GreenEsq. is featuring an ongoing series of posts in an effort to track the progress of the NYC Green Codes Task Force’s proposals and any resulting local laws that are relevant to building owners and tenants in New York City. This post summarizes the NYC Green Codes Task Force proposals and Local Laws enacted for the "Overarching Issues" category. Recently two of these three proposals became Local Laws.

GreenEsq. is featuring an ongoing series of posts in an effort to track the progress of the NYC Green Codes Task Force’s proposals and any resulting local laws that are relevant to building owners and tenants in New York City. This post summarizes the NYC Green Codes Task Force proposals and Local Laws enacted for the Energy Efficiency category.

GreenEsq. is featuring an ongoing series of posts in an effort to track the progress of the NYC Green Codes Task Force’s proposals and any resulting local laws that are relevant to building owners and tenants in New York City. This post summarizes the NYC Green Codes Task Force proposals and Local Laws enacted for the Water Efficiency category.

GreenEsq. is featuring an ongoing series of posts in an effort to track the progress of the NYC Green Codes Task Force’s proposals and any resulting local laws that are relevant to building owners and tenants in New York City. This post summarizes the NYC Green Codes Task Force proposals and Local Laws enacted for the Health & Toxicity category.

New York City has recently passed a spate of local laws aimed at “greening” the City’s buildings. These laws, which impose mandatory baseline requirements, stand to function as a significant accompaniment to voluntary programs such as LEED in making progress toward reducing the City’s carbon footprint. Based on 111 recommendations released on February 1, 2010 by the NYC Green Codes Task Force – an initiative led by the Urban Green Council, the New York Chapter of the US Green Building Council and originally called for by Mayor Bloomberg in response to PlaNYC – the New York City Council has enacted numerous local laws affecting new as well as existing buildings. GreenEsq. is featuring an ongoing series of posts in an effort to track the progress of the Green Codes Task Force’s proposals and any resulting local laws and note how these laws impact building owners and tenants in New York City.

Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data indicate that, in the U.S., buildings account for approximately 40 percent of energy use and the residential building sector accounts for approximately 21 percent of total carbon emissions. Jonathan Rose Companies, with funding from the EPA’s Smart Growth Program, released a study in January 2011 on the effects of housing location and housing type on household energy consumption. The study finds that transit-oriented development is more efficient than conventional suburban development, and that multifamily and single-family attached homes are more efficient than single-family stand-alone homes. The paper illustrates how the proximity of housing to transit and the type of housing—along with energy-efficient features of homes and vehicles—are major variables for household energy consumption.